Baseball Duo

Here they are ... having a great time with baseball. I've found that it does a mother good to cheer! And I've had even a little more fun, too. A really great thing happened for my little one's team and I called the local Sports Editor of the Broken Arrow Ledger, Doug Quinn. As I told him about a "mystery donor" that blessed my daughter's team, I shared how she was enjoying baseball and didn't care that she was the only girl on her team. When I said that she even wanted a pink batting helmet so everyone would know she's a girl, he thought that would make a great story! So this weekend, I saw a little picture of my daughter in her pink helmet on the front of the paper and two big pictures in the feature! You can see the infamous pink helmet and read the story online at www.baledger.com (it even mentions her big brother) ... WHAT FUN!

A Morning of Photos with Doug Henderson

The big highlight of my day? It would have to be a front row seat at Doug Henderson's Digital Photography class (sponsored by Reasor's). I really enjoyed what I heard. He validated so much of what I instinctively do! That's not to toot my own horn, but it certainly supports why what I do seems to work - not to mention the positive opinions of those who like my images! Knowing that I would like to teach some basic photo how-to's to Girl Scouts (both girls and leaders), I always have a view toward learning things in a way that I can translate that knowledge to others as well. So the best part was being able to see examples, hear a teacher teach, and to ask some of my own questions!

With the Boys ...

In the dugout ... here's the most beautiful face in the bunch! Granted, she's the only girl (and she's MY girl)! Game 1 was EXCITING and we're all looking forward to #2 and hopefully a win to match the winners on the team! Tonight we heard the first rumors of a team mate with a crush on her. Oh boy! I never even thought about that! But she just gets up there and hits ... WAY TO GO, GIRL!

Geo-WHACK!

We made up a new game tonight. Geo-WHACK! We didn't have time for a "real" game and my youngest was quite disappointed, but this proved to be sufficient entertainment. Ask a geographic trivia question ... and the fun is in the wrong answers ... WHACK! A fast food bag does the trick and gives a little more added value to the purchase!

Hail? YES!

Believe it or not, we had HAIL! The ball game didn't miss a beat, though. Parents were beginning to huddle under the scant coverings over the bleachers. Wouldn't you know it, the little brothers and sisters playing between fields reveled in the moment!

Big Pitcher

Sometimes I don't realize how much time passes until a moment like this ... He is pitching again! The last time he was in the lens like this (pitching), he was only 11 years old ... 3 YEARS AGO! My little boy is growing up!!! He's never been the small kid in the bunch, but boy does he seem big now! I can hardly believe it. Indulge my mom moment, won't you?


A friend from school was up to bat ... they had challenged each other earlier, so it's GAME ON!


I guess this is a significant moment for me (Can you tell? I've posted 3 photos!) ... I barely have memories of much in my "before" life, but this is one that is vivid ... taking pictures of my son pitching and being so proud. It feels good to see him doing something like this again. He's good! During the previous two years when I just couldn't make it happen for him, I felt awful and dreamed of the day when he could play again. Well, he is!

Little Batter

It's her first year in team sports. She's in baseball, just like her brother. Too bad I didn't realize that it was mostly BOYS! I laugh, though, because she doesn't care except that boys don't talk enough (in other words, not like girls). But she finally got her pink batting helmet "so they would all know she's a girl!" She wore her pink Cubs hat we got in Chicago, too, so she was definitely the only pink headed one on the field!

Yeeeeeeeeer OUT!

My baseball star is on the field again! This is the first game in three years, so I was holding my breath! Sadly, his elbow is a little tender and he didn't pitch the first game. But he made some great plays and got plenty of outs at first base. I think I'm finally feeling those "mom-in-the-stands nerves" ... especially when he would steal bases! But I play it cool behind the camera. Hehehe!

Toast Explosion

While most families have wonderful Easter dinners, we had a toast explosion! My little one thought 1 minute in the microwave would warm up some toast that had been sitting in the toaster. She is so sweet. I wasn't feeling great this morning, and she made some toast for me (but I think really wanted me to get up so they could find their Easter baskets).

Actually, we did have a simple (but wonderful) REAL meal later on and spent much of the day in the kitchen getting reaquainted with the concept of making YUMMIES! After the real food, we made all kinds of treats. Even my teenager made his contribution with microwave fudge! There is still that lingering very "burnt" smell. I know that's not how it's "spelt" but it just seems to fit the smell so much better!

Parties Make Perfect!

If this doesn't look like fun, I don't know what does! This is birthday party #2 at "Pump It Up" and I have to say, I'm impressed! Had I known parents could play, too, I might have and brought my socks braved the inflatables!

The Hunt is On!

We thought Easter would be warm in Oklahoma ... not so this year! The special dress (for which we got matching flip flops) had to be modified for cold weather, and I can testify that IT WAS COLD! We went to a community egg hunt which took a LONG time and they limited the kids to 5 eggs each. Hmmmm ... I guess it surprised me. Maybe that's how they do it here? Anyway, my little one enjoyed it and was glad to have some hot cocoa when we got inside.

Happy Easter, Everyone!

OK ... so it's my funny "not-so-Easter" picture. Chocolate bunnies have nothing to do with the significance Easter holds for me and my family. But since they have worked their way into our culture with Easter baskets and whatnot, I can't resist posting my favorite laugh-out-loud image. I saw this in an email at least a year ago and it makes me laugh every time I see it!

You know, it just hit me that it's a pretty good picture of a dysfunctional family! LOL! But that's another subject. For now, Happy Easter, everyone!

Oslofjorden

Goodbyes ... beautiful and difficult. Beautiful because of the treasured moments they mark and reflect. Difficult because a step away from something beautiful is always painful. Thankfully, there are always new horizons on the path ahead. And to keep moving is to keep finding adventures and creating wonderful memories.

Stats ... Interesting and FRUSTRATING!

I love stats ... and when a bunch do similar things at the same time, my ears perk up! Seems like there is a localized interest that is combing the archives. All the "regular" visitors are doing "regular" things but there is a handful of people from 4 neighboring communities that have spiked the stats nearly 38400% (yes, I checked) just on the main page alone (not to mention the archives). Makes you take note, doesn't it? It's been going on for a little while and I haven't had much time to follow through. Let's just say that I've been curious, then interested, then suspicious, and now FRUSTRATED!

I thought about posting some fascinating charts and graphs, but rethought it as I didn't want to leave any identifying information available to the public. Besides, I'm a geek and and love visual elements charts offer to illustrate statistics, but to others it is probably overkill. So ... I'll keep it simple. To the "spikers" in the midst, please note yesterday's post and consider this an invitation to dialogue. Satisfy your curiousity and post a comment! I'll answer. You can even send an email via Yahoo to IndigoBleue if a public blog forum is too public.

In the meantime, I'll just keep watching. I'm suspicious of silence - especially when there is much going on underneath the surface.

Not-So-Friendly Reminder ...

This is a friends and family blog ... I use these pages to share moments with people who know me and my family. Of course, I welcome new friends. But for those with intentions not as friendly, this note is an encouragement to talk TO people and not ABOUT them.

My son and I ...

We actually had a day to ourselves yesterday! That was a new thing. It's almost always ALL of us, but little sister is spending some time with grandparents. So instead of hurrying home from church and working, we had lunch together and it was so nice just to talk and hear about his friends and the things he likes and dislikes. I will have to make it a point to do that more often!

Little Songwriter

I still have the big piece of construction paper with the first song I wrote ... Jesus Is Our Very Best Customer. What a song! I believe I was in kindergarten. Well, my little one has been writing songs ... usually writing the lyrics to songs she already knows, but tonight she showed me an original! This is fresh off the first grade press:

wans I saw a cowboy on the rode
all I did was go up to him
and askt him do you want to go out
we rode the same hores (HORSE!) together
then I askt him will you mariy me
and he said Yes.

These Beautiful People

I think I need to start making a practice of buying music from the musicians I meet in my travels. I have never been so relaxed in an airport! And the nice thing is she hails from my home state of Minnesota. When I have her information at hand, I'll post her web site and an excerpt of her music.

Yeah ... I'm driving.

I'll admit ... it's a weakness of mine. When I have a camera within reach? It doesn't matter if I'm driving, I'll reach over and start shooting hoping I'll catch a portion of the view that is impacting me at the moment. And this little moment? My first visit to Houston!

Mountain Rainfall

It's so amazing when you can see things like this from the clouds!

Purple Mountains Majesty

I always thought that line was poetic, but not all that real ... purple mountains majesty. As a child it stuck in my mind and gave me more of a dreamy, eloquent imagination. But I was going through my photos tonight. Purple mountains! This one was from a trip to Anaheim last year. Those colors really are there! Sometimes I'm amazed to see what colors are present in the light. They're not always evident at first, but those subtle shades can spring out and surprise me sometimes. Sometimes monochromatic, sometimes like a rainbow. Light is somewhat magical. It's one of those things that makes my mind go "TILT" when I stop to think about it ... all those colors just waiting in something supposedly without color? WOW.

Sportswriter Night

Basketball playoffs! The Tulsa World has Kevin covering stories all over the place this week. We joined in for a night and my little one had her own version of stats going. It was VERY cute and she absolutely LOVED it!

Party Weekend!

Three of her classmates had birthday parties this weekend ... all boys! I feel the social calendar growing with each month that passes. She'll need her own car before she's out of elementary school!

Thinking Day 2007

They danced the night away! These little girls had the best time at the Girl Scout Thinking Day event last night. My little fashionista girl said if she had known there was going to be a DJ, she would have worn different clothes. Instead of dressing up (in a skirt and tights), she would have worn cool jeans and a really cool shirt! COOL! I didn't think about "cool" at her age.

She Would Have Loved The 80's

We got the giggles over this one ... and when I told her that's how some people liked their hair to look in the 80's when I was a teenager, she giggled some more and said, "COOL!"

Talents Abound

You never know what new talent will surface next with my kids!

Joy

(Click on the photo above if it isn't animated - you'll get a little dance!)

The weather is beautiful, and the other day I laughed and laughed as the kids played in the yard. It felt so good to drink in the moments. I finally went to get my camera and caught some funny photos of the two of them. Unfortunately, I'm in computer maintenance mode and am making room on my drive so I can defrag before I upload any more photos! Do I ever need disk storage!!! So before I send a bunch of pictures to the external drive for storage, I thought I'd see if I could put my little one in action. Between the beautiful weather, goofy kids, and FINALLY a day to breathe and get some of my work at home done ... there is an exuberance underlying the day in a quiet expectation of good, which today I call JOY!

"I AM ASLEEP!"

I don't think she was thinking when she answered me ... My irritation has been rising, listening to my little one continue to make noise upstairs. It's 10:07 and bedtime was 8:30. Chores weren't done, so she didn't get in bed until 8:50 and after she read her book, wrote a few words, and I tucked her in, it was 9:00 ... over an HOUR AGO! It's a school night and I have been consistently sleep deprived, and my earlier warning obviously didn't have much of an effect. I've been calm and quiet, but now I'm getting crabby wondering if she's got dolls in bed with her.

She's not being noisy, mind you. But her bedroom is right above my office. I'm working on a few things but in the back of my mind is the thought that she's losing sleep when I hear the bed creaking and other soft sounds going on.

I call up the stairs in a somewhat irritated voice, "This is your last warning! If I keep hearing noise and have to come up there, you won't be happy about it!" There's a little fluttering but no response. "M? Are you sleeping?" The small but emphatically determined voice responds, "I AM ASLEEP!" I pause for a moment (stifiling a laugh) ... then respond, "I don't think so!"